Corporate

From the Great Barrier Reef to the protection of endangered species, CMA CGM steps forward for biodiversity

Reading time: 5 min

January 21, 2021

Last December, the CMA CGM Group and the Reef Restoration Foundation have announced their partnership to aid coral regeneration on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. This project is the latest example of how the CMA CGM Group mobilizes for the environment and the protection of our oceans. As 2021 sees a growing number of LNG-Powered vessels joining our fleet, the CMA CGM Group undeniably makes this year the year for action against Climate change.

Promoting the responsible use of the oceans and the respect for marine biodiversity: it is with this mission in mind, all whilst being deeply concerned by the depletion of The Great Barrier Reef that the teams at ANL, our Oceania shipping expert, have partnered with Reef Restoration Foundation, a not-for profit social enterprise based in Cairns, Australia. One objective for this partnership: to establish a fast-growing coral nursery and regenerate the Barrier Reef, our planet’s largest ecosystem (230+ km long).

This project is the first step in a what is a larger coral restoration program. The CMA CGM Group will engage in 2021, in various similar projects in different parts of the world, notably in the Caribbean.

“This is extremely important to ANL, the CMA CGM Group and every one of our team members”, explains Shane Walden CEO of ANL. “Australians, and more broadly Oceanian people, have a special relationship with the Great Barrier Reef. Helping restore this extraordinary natural heritage is charged with meaning”

A series of commitments for the environment

This partnership remains in-line with a long series of bold and pioneering decisions taken by the CMA CGM Group to protect our oceans and their biodiversity. When in 2019, Rodolphe Saade announced that the CMA CGM Group would not use the Arctic Sea Routes for the transport of goods, several carriers joined the movement and helped establish a new standard for the benefit of such a fragile ecosystem.

 

And the list of our commitments goes on:

  • Limitation of the speed of our vessels to safeguard the cetaceans’ breeding areas
  • Greenship program to make sure wastes generated onboard are stocked and treated ashore in the appropriate treatment facilities
  • Use of underwater drones to inspect our vessels’ hulls
  • Compliance to the UN Global Compact’s Sea and Ocean platform to help promote a more responsible use of our oceans
  • Implementation of the Ocean framework to better monitor our impact on the oceans with the Fondation de la Mer and Boston Consulting Group
  • Tighter procedures introduced to fight against the trafficking of protected species and the creation of a black list of shippers who contribute to the depletion of biodiversity. The CMA CGM Group has also joined forces with United4Wildlife to treat more effectively and collectively this industry-wide issue.
     

Because the protection of our planet goes hand-in-hand with the fight against global warming, the CMA CGM Group has set up an ambitious goal of Carbon Neutrality by 2050. With our new fleet of LNG-Powered vessels, we take a new step forward by embracing an energy that preserves air quality and accelerates the shipping industry’s energy transition.

 

Learn more about our Sustainability approach
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